


Guard

by digitaldreams



Series: Digital's Ikesoren Week Drabbles [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Fear, IkeSoren Week, IkeSoren Week 2021, M/M, No Dialogue, Relationship Study, Trust, not beta read we die like greil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:16:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28587060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitaldreams/pseuds/digitaldreams
Summary: War was nothing short of pure hell, and it went out of its way to show all those involved the true definition of terror.
Relationships: Ike/Senerio | Soren
Series: Digital's Ikesoren Week Drabbles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2093163
Kudos: 17
Collections: IkeSoren Week 2021





	Guard

In war, there were no second chances. 

Ike became closely acquainted with the truth of war’s brutality at a young age, far before any person should have been forced to see such violence. He still remembered the weight of his father’s body in his arms in the aftermath of the battle against the Black Knight, and he would never be able to fully wipe away the memory of crimson stains that he wasn’t ever given the chance to erase. It was a remembered sense of dread that seemed to sink its terrifying teeth in at the worst possible moments. 

Ike had been standing at the heart of a battle, watching the soldiers of Daein rage on all sides, at the young age of seventeen, not fully comprehending the difficulties that had been presented towards him so young. He slashed his blade at the enemies that dared to get too close, always looking away before the strike of silver in scarlet could get to be too much for him. He couldn’t ever stop moving; the battle demanded that he press on no matter the circumstances. 

He could still recall the chain of events clearly, even years after the battle had taken place. In the center of the chaos, Ike had been able to see an axe that was far stronger than what he was used to seeing. The enemy in question was a strong one, unwilling to stand down even in the face of the battle ahead. He had charged forward recklessly as his number of allies began to dwindle, and Ike realized his target just a moment before the first blow was dealt. 

Soren never showed any signs of being too injured; he never did. Instead, his face flickered with mild irritation for a moment before he managed to shelve it. Hiding his emotions was a practiced dance that he had come to master over the years, and if not for the gash on his arm, most never would have expected that anything was wrong. 

Ike knew better than that. He dashed forward before he could stop himself and threw up his blade to block the next attack from the offending assailant that had done so much damage. Soren had watched him with surprise, black hair pressed against his face between a blend of sweat and rogue stains of blood. Ike barely gave it a second thought as he finished the job, slashing his sword in a grand arc before turning his focus back to Soren with an intense gaze. 

The silent question hung in the air of if Soren was alright or not, but neither one of them asked nor answered it. Instead, they simply pressed on with the fight at hand. Ike was careful to keep from leaving Soren’s side for any longer than he had to, and he kept an eye on his tactician whenever he had the chance. He was starting to believe that the injury in question looked far worse than it actually was, and Ike allowed himself to breathe a silent sigh of relief. 

War had given Ike the concept of fear a new meaning. It had offered him grief that he knew to be inescapable, and Ike shouldered it all with a passive expression and a quiet sympathy that most never expected from such a stony face. He grew used to bloodshed for better or worse and marked his life in terms of battles rather than seasons or passing months as most others did. 

Ike, after having come to know sorrow so intimately, refused to experience it once again. He always did what he could in order to ensure that his troops survived each battle, and he breathed a sigh of relief each time he saw that there were no casualties. He would do anything to keep himself from experiencing grief like the death of his father all over again, and if that included taking a blow for others, so be it. 

Soren always wished that he had been able to repay the favor as the battle was taking place. Instead, he waited for three years until the time arrived that he was able to aid Ike in return. It was in a battle at the heart of the tower where Ashera waited, and her servants were swarming around them in a crowd that told Soren they weren’t going to be able to move forward until after they had defeated all of their foes. The battle was pandemonium incarnate, a fitting description given that senators of Begnion were the generals that Ashera had selected to lead this set of enemy forces. 

Soren saw the strike of fire magic long before it even existed. The subtle movement of lips from the caster earned his attention, and he recognized that the target was Ike not long afterward. Ike was distracted with another foe and hadn’t even noticed that he was meant to take such a blow. Soren’s expression set itself in something akin to darkened determination, and he lunged forward with all of the speed in the world. 

Blocking the attack was easier said than done, but he was able to pull it off before finishing the offending foe with a swift returning attack from his tome of swirling winds. Ike glanced over his shoulder and saw that Soren was there, and the two exchanged a brief glance before the battle continued around them. For a moment, there was peace, and both of them were able to breathe. 

War had shown the true definition of fear to all those involved, and the promise of grief always seemed to live in the wings even on the heels of success. No matter what was to come, the combatants did what they could to survive and triumph over their dread in each battle that came and went. With each guarded attack, Ike and Soren were presented with the truth that they had managed to live for just a moment longer, and at times, that was all they truly needed. 

**Author's Note:**

> Day two, baby!
> 
> For this prompt, I decided to go with something a bit different: rather than just using one of the two prompts, I went with a blend of the two. Fear and Trust were the two prompts for the day, and while the former is certainly more prominent, both of them are present. 
> 
> I guess this is starting to become a pattern, but here's your 'Title That References An Exotic Tellius Fact' for the day! Guard is a skill in both Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. In Radiant Dawn, it allows one character to take damage for their support partners. Would you look at that? I'm being cheeky again. 
> 
> Speaking of me being cheeky, my variation of the not beta read tag is as cruel as it is funny to me. It's become a habit of sorts for me to use little variations of the tag depending on the fandom (we die like Leomon on Digimon fiction, we die like Glenn for Fire Emblem Three Houses, etc), but I think this has got to be the meanest one of all, especially considering the theme of this chapter. Rest in peace, Greil. 
> 
> That should be it from me for today. I hope you all enjoyed!
> 
> -Digital


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